"This is a critical time in our history," Beaverton School District Superintendent Jeff Rose told the district's budget committee Thursday night.

Rose has been warning for months that this year would be different. When other districts sliced staff during the last few years, Beaverton whittled funds in areas away from the classroom and reached into reserves to cover costs.

Now, the third largest district in the state is, literally, paying the price.

Rose inherited the budget when he took over as superintendent this school year, replacing long-time superintendent Jerry Colonna. Rose said previous decisions "play a critical role in the current situation we are in."

The job numbers may change as the district negotiates with unions to cut days from the calendar. One day saves about $1.2 million, which is the equivalent of 15 teachers. The district cut four days from the calendar this school year.

Rose said there is a perception in Beaverton that the district will find the funds to cover costs, as it has in the past. Voters defeated a local option levy in November that would have brought about $14 million a year to district coffers.

But now, reserves are down to 3 percent and the district has no plans to use them in 2012-13, Rose said. In fact, the reserves must be rebuilt over the next few years to 5 percent, per district policy.

"We have to realize there is no bucket of money," he said.

Salem-Keizer is the only nearby district to reduce as many staff as Beaverton projects to cut. Salem, which is slightly larger than the Beaverton district, laid off about 400 employees this year.

Teacher librarians will be eliminated at all schools; libraries will be staffed by library assistants, who are not certified instructors.

Staffing ratios will increase in kindergarten from 24:1 to 28:1; grades 1-5, from 26:1 to 30:1; middle school from 24:1 to 30:1; and high school from 26:1 to 30:1. Ratios typically translate into larger class sizes than the ratio indicates. Middle schoolers, for example, may see core classes with 35 or more students.

Fewer speech pathologists, school psychologists, autism specialists, high school counselors and campus safety monitors, among other cuts.

Golf and water polo will lose district funding but athletes can fundraise to keep the programs.

Teacher librarian Debbie Alvarez saw the cuts coming and was already prepared. Teacher librarians were on the list of reductions last school year but were saved in the final days.

"I started investigating other jobs, and I'm moving to Hong Kong," she said Friday. Alvarez, who works at Ridgewood

View full sizeBenjamin Brink/The Oregonian 2011Beaverton teacher librarian Debbie Alvarez works with a student at Ridgewood Elementary School last year on making a powerpoint slide. Teacher librarians are proposed to be eliminated in the 2012-13 budget. Alvarez has already found another job in Hong Kong.

Other instructors are taking their chances and staying put, but even veterans are likely to see a change.

Elementary special education teacher Irene McConaghy has 26 years with the district, but said she could be cut to part-time or have to split her job between two schools. Like everyone else, she expects to see larger class sizes as the number of students identified as having special needs continues to grow and staff shrinks. She already has a caseload of 32 kids.

Adding more, she said, "I just can't fathom that."

At Westview High School, where class sizes are already 35 to 40 students in many courses, principal Mike Chamberlain said he has no regrets about past decisions.

"We did what was best for our kids and community at the time," he said. "We saved a lot of jobs and we offered an incredibly rich education to our kids. We made decisions with good hearts and good intentions."

The cuts must be approved by the budget committee in May and adopted by the school board in June. Parents, students and others will have a chance to offer ideas and comments about the budget during a budget listening session at Sunset High School on May 1.